Height of T-5's off of water

[ChickenKing]

Hello all.....I just received my order from ReefGeek for my AquaIllumination 48" 6x54W Micro-4 T5 HO Retrofit Kit (http://www.reefgeek.com/lighting/T5_Fluorescent/AquaIllumination/Miro-4_Retrofit_Kits/48_inch__6x54W_Miro-4_T5_High-Output_Retrofit_Kit_w!_Bulbs_by_AquaIllumination) that will be installed on my new 110 Gallon (48"x18"x29" tall) reef set-up. The system consists of 6 individual T-5 bulbs and reflectors that I wanted to mount directly to the canopy. It's a new tank that is going through cycle now with temporary lighting (Thanks jerl77) and I wanted to mount the lights correctly the first time. The tank is going to be a mixed reef with SPS and LPS corals and currently has live sand / live rock. If I mount them directly onto the canopy the bulbs would be approximately 7" away from the water surface. Is this a good separation or should I make some sort of spacer to get the bulbs closer ? Any advise is greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Jeff

 

[Mreefer]

whatever height you decide on, make sure salt creep won't damage your nice and new reflectors, esp. if you don't have an acrylic shield of some sort.

 

[jerl77]

just mount them :bunnies: that height is fine

 

[daisy]

+1 about the salt creep.

I run a 6-bulb T5 unit over a 75 gal tank housing all different kinds of corals, and everything is growing nicely. My bulbs are perhaps 6 inches over the tank. But the thing is that there is a plexiglass shield between the bulbs and the water, and that is critical. At the very least, shield the contacts between the bulbs and the electric source, but shielding the bulbs will be a good idea, as it is easier to clean the shield than it is to clean each individual bulb...

Good luck!

 

[knockout]

salt creep is the only concern, mines are about 3 inches off the water but I have a shield on my fixture

 

[NYreefNoob]

Mine is around 9" because i have it mounted to my canopy, but i also dont have a tank as deep as yours and i have a 8 bulb fixture

 

[ChickenKing]

Thanks for all the replys. Each bulb has water-tight end caps which should protect the ends of the bulbs but I guess the bulb itself will get coated with salt over time as well. Good thoughts.... My tank came with the glass covers that would cover the entire top of the tank and would be just above the water surface. Do you think using these is a good idea or would they cut down on the light intensity ?

 

[Mreefer]

if the glass cover covered the tank entirely, it will cut the rate of gas exchange (such as O2) with the atmosphere. you probably don't want that. in addiction, if it's too close to the water, salt creep will build up on it easily and obstruct any incoming light from your t5s to the tank. that means you probably have to clean the cover almost every 2-3 days. however, that's preferable to cleaning out the fixture.

 

[knockout]

Thanks for all the replys. Each bulb has water-tight end caps which should protect the ends of the bulbs but I guess the bulb itself will get coated with salt over time as well. Good thoughts.... My tank came with the glass covers that would cover the entire top of the tank and would be just above the water surface. Do you think using these is a good idea or would they cut down on the light intensity ?

Yeah, I would not use the tank covers either... gas exchange described before, could you make an acrylic splash cover?

 

[ChickenKing]

I'm not sure how I would mount a shield if I made an acrylic one. My idea is to mount the bulb assemblies to the canopy, have 4 bulbs on the fixed portion and 2 bulbs on the front portion that swings up to gain access to the tank. I know I'll need to leave slack in the wires to allow for the movement. How far away from the water surface would you put the shield and what would you make it out of ? Plexiglass?

 

[knockout]

my aquatinics just has a plexiglass shield, I am not sure how you would go about mounting or if it can be installed... do you have a pic of the canopy?

 

[ChickenKing]

I'll take some pictures tomorrow and post here. Mounting a shield might get a little tricky because of the section of the canopy that opens. Right now I left the half of the glass covers in place until I figure out what I'm going to do.

Maybe I should have just ordered the complete fixture like I was originally intending to...lol.....More to follow tomorrow. Thanks so far everyone.

 

[flipit13]

hmmmmm i have wondered about this several times and will follow this thread. i run a tek 6 bulb T5 over a 40 breeder with the legs and think it is to low ( at full height) 6" above the water. also with ati and giessman bulbs

 

[ChickenKing]

As it sites right now the bulbs sit approximately 7" off of the water. I'm thinking I went a little too blue with the color. ReefGeeks chose the bulbs for me since I'm a bit new to this. They gave me 4-ATI Blue Plus bulbs 1-UVL 12000K Actinic White (50/50) and 1-Korallen Zucht Fiji Purple bulb. Might need to hit up jerl77 for a bulb swap !!!

 

[anthony27]

just watch out 4 salt creep and as long as ur light spectrum is reaching bottom and the back of the tank ur good to go

 

[ChickenKing]

How do you know if the bottom is getting full light spectrum ? My tank is pretty deep at 28" give or take.

 

[knockout]

How do you know if the bottom is getting full light spectrum ? My tank is pretty deep at 28" give or take.

you should be ok, my tank is 30" deep and the corals on the sand grow like nuts.

 

[nycoralguy]

Make sure water/salt don't creep in your light, keep all sps in the center/top of your tank, always follow directions that came with all equip.

 

[ChickenKing]

Got a chance to take some iPhone pictures of the tank and canopy with the lights on. just one problem....I cant find any threads on how to post photos. I was thinking of installing a few rails on the sides and a support in the middle that will allow me to put a piece of plexiglass in between the water and the bulbs. Any ideas ?

 

[knockout]

for photos, open an account with photobucket.com its free load your pictures on their site, then they provide links to the pictures, use the IMG Code link on your replies picture will be displayed on the forum, its easy!